Oh, Brother! “Strawberries improve brain function”

A study presented by researchers from the Chicago Healthy Aging Project has suggested that older adults who consume strawberries at least once per month have less cognitive decline. Such claims, usually reserved for blueberries, pomegranettes, blackcurrants, and other “super foods”, have not typically been extended to strawberries.

Now, I can’t be critical of strawberries, especially during the summer. They are a delicious fruit, and also play a central role inone of my favorite Beatles’ songs.

Clearly, strawberries or any other type of berry high in antioxidants is a wise choice in anyone’s diet (especially if they are free of pesticides).

But let’s not bamboozle the public into thinking that eating cartons of strawberries is going to miraculously protect individual brains from dementia. And let’s not ignore the fact that people who can afford to eat strawberries more frequently are likely to have the means to live generally more healthy lives.

When I saw this story, I was reminded of a post we published the outset of the blog titled “Top 5 Things to Remember When Reading Stories about Alzheimer’s Disease ‘Cures’ or ‘Research Breakthroughs’, where we used the example of blueberries to explain how readers could protect against the hype of headlines. If you go back and read that story, just replace the word “blueberries” with “strawberries” and you can pretty well insulate yourself against the false hope a story like this creates.

Comments

Vitamin C is an antioxidant and it prevents damage leading to different types of diseases.

Vitamin B can improve our thinking ability.

Vitamin E can help preserve brain function and protect nerve-cell degeneration. It is also one of the important antioxidants that our brain needs.

Carbohydrates are good for the brain, because they contain Glucose which are known as the brain fuel. It gives off energy for us to concentrate, remember, learn, and other activities.

Then there’s your protein. Amino acids are obtained from protein. Neurotransmitters need those amino acids to relay or become a messenger from one nerve cell to another. A high protein meal can make us feel energized because it increases the tyrosine levels of our brain and blood. Tyrosine and tryptophan are some of the different types of amino acids. And because tyrosine can make us become more energized, our brain can concentrate more.